Bagni di Lucca info

Bagni di Lucca is collection of 25 villages in the Lima Valley in Northern Tuscany. It has been called Bagni di Lucca since 1862. The commercial centre, and home of the comune, is La Villa, which sits on either side of the river.

The area where I live is Ponte a Serraglio, 1 kilometre down river. I can see the first casino built in Europe from my window.

Fornoli, where the railway station is, sits another kilometre further down the Lima river.

The total population is around 7,000 and is spread around the villages of Benabbio, Casabasciana, Granaiola and Lugliano among others. In 1101 the Countess Matilda of Tuscany had the Devil’s Bridge built so that she could access the health giving springs, which have been known since Etruscan and Roman times.

Since Lucca unified the area in 1308 and tranformed it into a spa oasis, it has been visited by people from all over Europe to take the waters. It’s heyday was in the early 1800s, during Napoleon’s occupation when his sister Elisa Baciocchi spent her summers in Bagni di Lucca. A casino was built and it became a social hub for foreigners, particularly the English. Shelley, Bryon and the Barrett Brownings were among the visitors.

The view from Debra’s balcony

Looking across the Lima river at Ponte a Serraglio

Ponte a Serraglio

The casino, the first in Europe

Villa Ada at La Villa

The baths at La Villa

The pretty marble sculpture in Villa Ada

The old station building in Autumn

The Lima river from Ponte a Serraglio

The autumn mists on the river

The walking bridge to Villa Fiori and the car park

Early morning from the walking bridge.

For suggestions for places to stay in Bagni di Lucca, look on the Stay in Bagni di Lucca page.

We love our little village and would like to share it with everyone. If you have any questions you think we may be able to help with, please send an email to – debrakolkka@gmail.com – and we will do our best to answer you.

Keep in mind that I do not get paid to write this blog and I do not receive commissions from anyone. If you would like a detailed itinerary for your trip, please speak to the site you are renting from, or your travel agent. I will try to help with general questions, but many will be answered by looking through the archives of the blog.

I am going back to Italy in about a week and I will be there for 4 months. I will then be in Brisbane for the winter and head back to Italy for a couple of months in autumn. I usually spend about 6 months a year in each place – perfect really.

I am applying for an internship at an art gallery in florence and currently live in Wisconsin USA. It has always been my dream to travel to Italy, but not just for 2 weeks. I want to experience much more. Am I going to be able to survive the culture shock!

I’ll be happy here forever. You can adopt me and take me in or point me to the nearest real estate agent….breathtaking…and now one of my destinations this summer. Thank you, I realized my level of stress just went down 50% and my desire rose double that. Would this be a good place to base my daughter and I for the summer? I want to show her Rome, Florence, Venice, Sorrento/Pompeii and I want to “live” somewhere that perhaps will become my permanent home.

Our little village of Bagni di Lucca is very central to lots of things. I can be in Rome in about 4 hours using public transport and the same for Venice. Lucca, one of the loveliest towns in Italy is 40 minutes away on the bus and Florence 1 hour further on. It would be an excellent place to be for the summer.

I am bringing a group of friends from Australia for my 50th in may to Lucca. I am really interested in visiting the gargafagna and bagni di kucca. Any suggestions for a day tour with lunch ( tasting local specialities) or othe small towns within a couple of hours that are your favourite, We have cars , Love to walk ( not too many hills), eat drink talk and absorb .

If you come to Bagni di Lucca eat at Del Sonno. There is at least one post on it. Barga is another good option. Look at Heather Jarman’s website Sapori e Saperi for tours in the area. When I get back from Sardegna I will email you with some suggestions. Eat at Paris Boheme in Lucca and say hello to Luis and David.

Dear Debra
I’m coming to Bagni di Lucca next month, booked to stay at Park Hotel Regina, on a whim with little info and, have been delighted by the insight on your blog!
I’m travelling alone and arrive on a Sunday at Pisa airport. Do you now if the buses run on a Sunday? I presume I have to change buses in Lucca too. Any information would be most appreciated.
Thanks for the inspiring blog
Jo

We just returned from a week in Bagni di Lucca staying at a lovely rental, Villa La Chiusa. It was wonderful and I would love to return.

I highly recommend a little local family restaurant named “La Lanternina”. It’s not fancy nor does it have a diverse menu but the proprietor, Francesca, will make you feel like long lost family and her ravioli is to die for! It’s also open when many others are closed – try it! Unfortunately I forgot the street it is on but I was referred to it late at night by the local Carabinieri.

For a more upscale restaurant “Ristorante Circolo dei Forestieri” was great for the food, service and the great outdoor veranda overlooking the river.

Thank you for the tips. Which village were you staying in? I don’t know La Lanternina, but I would like to find it. The Circolo is great, especially if the balcony is open. I think now it would be too cool out there in the evening.

It was only after reading your blog that I learned the fact that Bagni di Lucca was really a composite of several villages. So I do not know exactly which village we were in. I do know that driving up from Lucca we crossed over a bridge and we were on the same side of the river as Circolo but is was 5 minutes down the road from us. I think our villa was located a 1/4 mile or so from the local sports stadium which was also our landmark to to turn at to climb a steep hill with many tight switchbacks to get to a special restaurant on top of what seemed a small mountain. I’ll try and get a better location description for you.

The Villa Chiusa that Niles stayed in is in Fornoli I think. There is another place called Villa La Chiusa which appears to be near Lucca.
Niles left this comment on my blog a while ago. I doubt that he would still be looking at comments, which is why I have answered this.

I do occasionally read this site and I get email notices when someone comments on my discussion.

Keith, I guess you are looking at a Villa La Chiusa which is quite a bit closer to Lucca.

We very much enjoyed Villa Chiusa in Bagni di Lucca but it is a bit more driving (about 20-25 mins) to get to Lucca and the Florence-Pisa freeway if you plan to do a lot of day tours of the Tuscan countryside.

On the plus side the local villages of Bagni di Lucca are very scenic and I suspect the rental rate is lower as it is more remote from Lucca – you can check out Villa Chiusa at:

Hi Niles,
Great to hear from you. I know Gina, who manages the property, and I am hoping to meet up with her when I get back to BdL.
Thank you for adding more info. Perhaps we will see you in BdL again one day.

Australia is huge! You should come for at least a month and select a few places you really want to see, because the distances between areas of interest can be enormous. I don’t think you should miss Uluru and the outback…it is truly spectacular. The Barrier Reef is incredible. We have some of the best beaches in the world. Our main cities are great places to visit, but our outback is what makes us unique. One of the best things we have ever done is a cruise from Darwin to Broome, across the Kimberley. I have never seen more spectacular landscape. I did a few posts on it a while ago, but my old camera did not do the place justice…a good excuse to go back. The category on Australia has several posts about my place of birth.
If I can help with anything specific let me know.

OK, after some painstaking landmark recognition research on Google Earth I think we were in the town of Fornoli. Coming N. on SS12 we turned left over the river on a non-descript bridge SS445 and then turned right where it met SP18. Our villa was 1/10 km above that intersection (as the crow flys) but 1.5 km in the car.

The restaurant, actually identified as Pizzeria La Lanternina, is located on a short street “X” (unnamed on Google) between Strada Provinciale (SP18) and Via Alcide De Gaspe. Go East on SP18 about 0.4 km from the SS445/SP18 intersection and turn right onto street “X”. Its halfway down the block on the left (east) side.

GPS coord’s are 44 deg 00’20.67″N & 10 deg 33’37.30″E. The GPS database may actually have the restaurant in it.

If you get there say Hi! to Francesca from her 8 fans from California, Virginia & Cyprus who were staying at Villa La Chiusa (Sept 8 – 15).

Fornoli is where the railway station is for Bagni di Lucca. My apartment is in Ponte a Serraglio, which you would have driven through to get to Circolo dei Forestieri in La Villa, the commercial centre of Bagni. I will certainly look for La Lanternina and say hello to Francesca. Not many people realise that Bagni di Lucca is actually a collection of villages. It is the largest comune in Italy with more than 200 kilometres of roads. I am still exploring after having been coming here for nearly 10 years.

For the one week we were there we used the villa as a base to explore a number of well known towns in Tuscany but I feel a bit of remorse for not having explored the local area more extensively. We hope to return some day – just the two of us – and immerse ourselves in the local culture and environment.

I could’nt help but notice the post exchange with Niles. I think a lot of us arrive in Bagni and use it as a base to travel to Florence Pisa Lucca Siena Volterra San Gimignano et al. Whats amazing though is that there is so much around Bagni (a bit closer to hand) like all the villages around San Cassiano Di Controne, plus Fornoli, Vico Pancellorum, all the villages on the other side of the valley from Bagni, then there’s Barga, Castelnuovo etc.
All of those villages have fascinating little communities. Although the way of life has changed for the people of the villages its still possible to see how they developed and the part they’ve played in Italian history.

You’re doing a great job of visiting and promoting the villages.
Someone needs to organise some walks from village to village in the valley. Say Guzzano to Gombereto and Longoio, and then a separate walk from Vetteglia to San Cassiano and Pallegio. The distance would’nt be too great, bearing in mind that most of the walks would be in the summer. You could then have a walk for the more energetic from say Monte de Villa to Montefegatesi.
It strikes me that there are a lot of tourists around in July/August with little time to find out where to go other than to Lucca and Florence, and you don’t see too many of them
in the villages above BDL spending money.

You are absolutely right! There are walking tracks all over Bagni di Lucca, but they are badly (or not) signed. A few signs and some arrows along the way would be great…as well as some information about the tracks. I am asked about this all the time.

I am Australian and I divide my time between Brisbane and Bagni di Lucca, with around 6 months in each place. I am leaving for Italy on Wednesday and I will be there until the end of May. I will be travelling via Hong Kong and Helsinki and I am planning a side trip to New York to visit my son at the end of February. It should be a fun trip.

Wow. I just found your website while googling for “bus bagni di lucca to florence” 🙂 It’s a very nice website with beautiful pictures. We’ll be staying in Boveglio (somewhere near the Bagni di Lucca area) for a week from Saturday 24th. So, I thought I might be allowed to ask you a question? We need to be in Florence on the 27th (center of town) at 9:00 a.m. for a guided tour. Could you maybe tell me the best way to travel there early in the morning? That would be great!!!!

We have been to the outdoor thermal baths in Saturnia, & loved them. We’ll be staying in Lucca soon – are there natural baths like that near Bagni? All I’ve seen so far on line are indoor pools. Thanks so much!

Hi
Firstly thank you for such an informative blog and I hope you do well at the awards. We’re going to Bagni de Lucca in June/July. Do you know of a hamlet called Guzzanno? I can’t see its location on our map and would just like to know if it has any shops such as bakers or will we need to go to the main town to get supplies?
Thank you

Thank you for you kind comments. I do know Guzzano, it is a lovely village. I haven’t been there for a while, but I don’t think there are any shops there. It is not far to La Villa, the main village, where there are lots of shops and restaurants, about a 10 minute drive.
On my other blog, Bella Bagni di Lucca, there is a post about Guzzano called Guzzano Geese, with photos of the village.
I will be in BdL until mid June. I will try to go again to Guzzano for some updated photos.

Hi Debra – I don’t know if you remember me but some time ago you helped me by visiting the English Cemetery in search of my ancestor John Hanchett. I have recently been made aware of that the Villa de Benedetti where he lived and died is now the Villa San Rocco and I understand that they do Bed and Breakfast. I have tried emailing them without success as I’d love some photos and to know if they know any more of the history other than the brief notes on their website. Do you per chance know they people who own the Villa? Kind Regards Deanne

I do remember searching the cemetery for you. I know of Villa San Rocco. I have been there and I met the owner once. I don’t know him well. I would suggest you phone him and have a chat. I will be in BdL in a few weeks and I can take a photo for you, but I can’t do much more.

Hi Debra we met at your apartment as we were contemplating having 3 months in Italy a few years ago(2013). Finally we are coming in August, staying at the Renaaissaance Tuscany. Hopefully we can call into the little coffee shop just down from your beautiful apartment and enjoy your beautiful village.
Shann and Doug Stephen

Try Palio at the Hotel Nazionale just up from the bridge near Villa Fiori. There are several in La Villa. If you look on my blog Bella Bagni di Lucca at the top of the page you will sea “Eat”. Click this and all the restaurants I have been to in the area are listed with a link to a post I have written.

Beautiful pictures!!! Can’t wait to see it in person in August when my husband and I travel there. My father in law (Contrucci) and his family were born in Bagni di Lucca and we can’t wait to see if we can find any of the places his family lived.

I hope you find some information about your relatives. You could try the library in the English church in La Villa. If you don’t know which village they came from it can be a bit difficult as records were held in the churches where people were married and baptised.
Enjoy your time there anyway.